Penn Medicine launches first-of-its-kind Parkinson’s disease initiative to advance research and treatment
Penn Medicine has launched the "Molecular Integration in Neurological Diagnosis (MIND) Initiative" to bring the power of precision medicine to Parkinson's disease research.
Precision medicine refers to the use of genetic or molecular profiling to tailor how individual patients are treated. The purpose of the MIND initiative is to find out how a person's genetic make-up can be analyzed to improve a clinician’s ability to diagnose Parkinson’s and select the right type of therapy.
“We have long recognized that no two people with Parkinson’s are alike," said Dr. Alice Chen-Plotkin, a professor of neurology who is leading the initiative. "Patients have big differences in their symptoms, responses to medications, and to the side effects of treatment. This new initiative aims to define groups of patients based on how one’s genes or other biomarkers contribute to these differences and to improve the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and develop better treatments in the future.”
Penn's goal with the MIND initiative is to enroll all patients in its Parkinson’s Disease Center in order to identify biomarkers and better categorize the diverse disease. If the program reaches its goal of enrolling 2,500 patients by 2020, Penn said, it would establish the largest Parkinson’s disease research cohort in the world with direct patient contact.
While conducting precision medicine research for Parkinson’s disease, the center will also keep interested patients updated on Parkinson’s breakthroughs and research — such as specific mutations a patient might carry — and give information back to patients in the context of genetic counseling.
“Right now, patients involved in research give their time, DNA samples, and more, but they usually get very little back beyond the hope that their contributions help find better treatments for people with their condition,” said Dr. Tom Tropea, an instructor of neurology and member of the MIND Initiative team. “We’re passionate about this center and our patients, and want to offer them the opportunity to stay engaged with our findings and opportunities for clinical trials. This type of knowledge is valuable for patients and it’s another way to thank them for their time.”
Parkinson’s disease is classified as a movement disorder, a large umbrella term for a variety of disorders that also includes tremors, Huntington’s disease, and other neurological conditions that affect the speed, quality, and ease of movement. A wide range of characteristics are present within each of these groups. Within Parkinson’s disease, for example, some patients' symptoms barely progress over a two-year span, while others have symptoms that progress more quickly. Penn's MIND Initiative researchers will use precision medicine techniques in an effort to determine why this happens — which could lead to better treatment options for patients.
The national Institutes of Health estimates about 50,000 people are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in the United States each year. Nearly one million people in this country will be living with the disorder by 2020, according to the Parkinson's Foundation.
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2018/10/03/penn-medicine-parkinsons-mind-genetic-profiling.html
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